


Strays

by gotquiet



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Fluff, Idfic, Kidfic, M/M, Werewolf AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-16
Updated: 2019-09-16
Packaged: 2020-10-19 18:42:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,349
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20661920
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gotquiet/pseuds/gotquiet
Summary: Jesse's been dealt a bad hand so far. Bitten by a werewolf as a small child and forced to survive among the Deadlock gang, he feels like things have taken a turn for the worse when Gabriel Reyes comes through and separates him from the only pack he's ever known.





	Strays

**Author's Note:**

  * In response to a prompt by [gotquiet](https://archiveofourown.org/users/gotquiet/pseuds/gotquiet) in the [iibb2019](https://archiveofourown.org/collections/iibb2019) collection. 

They planned the raid the evening before the full moon, when their targets would be antsy and distracted making preparations for the shift. A part of Gabe, a very small part, felt some guilt at abusing the weakness of his kin, but there were weres who upheld the traditions of their people, and there were packs that spit in the face of all that was proper, and the Deadlock gang was populated by the latter. Gabe's strike team was made up of Blackwatch's most seasoned hunters. Some were human, but most were like himself, creatures that could face an entire pack and survive unscathed. Deadlock was so confident in its position as top dog in the region that the strike team could practically drive up to the base without resistance, and the fight that followed was short and brutal. Bloodlust sung in his heart as Gabe ripped his way though the tunnels and warrens of the base, greeting anyone putting up resistance with a shotgun blast enhanced with silver shot. It was another small betrayal he preferred not to spend much energy thinking about.

They purged the warrens of the compound with surgical precision, and it didn't take long before the gang members realized their cause was helpless and started to surrender en mass. Gabe pushed forward, clearing room after room, until he approached one door, deep in the heart of the compound, and his scanner warned him of a half dozen life signs within. He motioned for his squad to prepare, counted down silently, and with one swift kick broke the door down, shouting for everyone inside to get down on the ground.

They'd barged into a maintenance room of some sort. The temperature spiked and Gabe's vision was obscured by a cluster of boilers and pipes. His HUD silently reminded him that there were hostiles about, but there was no one to be seen. He and the two strike members with him spread out, looking for their prey. The rumble of the machinery masked any sounds of life. This was a wise place to hide.

"Your friends are all in custody, or dead," Gabe shouted over the din. "Surrender yourselves and you will be given the rights afforded you by law."

There was no reply. They'd almost swept the whole room, and not a sign of anyone. He could feel Pruit and Diaz tensing up nearby, anticipating some sort of ambush.

They'd missed something. Gabe scanned the room again, and this time he saw it: a metal grate a few feet high on the wall, with screws fallen to the floor just below it. It was just large enough that someone determined might be able to squeeze in. He signaled his team, and they positioned themselves to either side of it.

"We can do this the easy way, or the hard way," Gabe said to the shadow behind the grate, "and if you pick the hard way I can't promise your safety."

The response was immediate. There was the rapport of a pistol, and the pipe right next to Gabe ruptured, shooting near boiling water right at his face. It was only inhuman instinct that had him ducking away fast enough to avoid a nasty burn. The chugging of the machines was met with a chorus of screaming, as the grate flew open and out dove the man who Gabe could only assume was the one who made the shot. Only, it wasn't a man. It was a kid. And his attempt to tackle down Diaz was an abysmal failure. All it took was a shift of body weight and she had him pinned under her, the nozzle of her rifle settled comfortably on the back of his head,

"They're kids," Pruit said. He was shining a light into the hole of the shaft while the boy under Diaz spit and cursed at them.

"Don't touch 'em!" he shouted, as if by will alone he could order Gabe around. Brave little pup.

"We're not going to hurt them." Gabe said, but even as he said it he knew he wouldn't be believed. Trust was not a thing Deadlock cultivated.

The kid replied in a flurry of more cursing, half of it in Spanish. His distress riled up the crowd of children huddled in the vent. A number of them were sobbing now, and Pruit was looking more and more uncomfortable.

Gabe tried a different tack. He knelt right by the kid's face, so if he craned his head up he could look him in the eye. "You keep struggling and we'll have to put you down. And then who's going to watch over these pups?"

The look he got back was one of pure rage, but reason seemed to win out and the kid went limp under Diaz, who shifted, and in a few practiced motions had him cuffed and standing.

"What's your name, kid?"

"Go fuck your mother."

"Well, go fuck your mother, how 'bout you tell the pups in there it's ok to come out? It's not safe for them in there. You don't want them to boil down here, do you?"

It was in fact uncomfortably hot in the room. The kid's stunt shooting the pipes didn't help things any. But the kid just stared at Gabe, defiant despite the tears streaming down his face. As much as he pitied the boy, he could feel it down to his bones that he was going to be trouble.

"We're taking your friend away now," Gabe announced. "If you come out you can stay with him, but if we leave without you you probably won't see him again."

A cacophony of pattering spilled out of the vent, and within a minute seven more children were standing in the room. One was barely an infant. Gabe resisted the urge to take the baby up in his own arms. The boy holding onto it was staring at him in terror and shaking like a leaf.

After patting the kids down as quickly as possible (turned out half of them had knives tucked in their clothes) and checking the vent for any stragglers, Gabe gave the signal and they marched the group out.

The signs of battle were strewn about the halls. Bodies lay on the floor. Medics tended to moaning victims propped up against the wall. While Gabe was collecting the children the rest of the compound had been cleared. The only thing left now was managing the fallout. Gabe pondered the back of the pup being led ahead of him. Kid was a good shot, considering his circumstances. Any better and Gabe might have caught that bullet in the head.

He commed Jack as they emerged from the compound.

"Seems like everything went smoothly," Jack said. "We have six reported casualties. Two dead. I'll send you the full report from medical once things have settled."

"Fine," Gabe said. "I've got some kids with me."

"Kids?"

"Children. Eight of them ages one to fifteen would be my guess."

He could hear Jack heave a sigh through the coms. They knew this would be a risk when they chose the date of attack. Didn't make it feel any better.

"Get them to camp delta. I'll have a place set up for them and contact protective services. Are they ours?"

Are they pack, he meant.

"Not sure but likely."

Jack sighed again. Gabe got it. This was trouble they didn't need. In a day the moon would be full, and the children in their custody would need their parents. Who knew if those parents were alive or dead? At least that was Jack's problem to worry about now, Gabe told himself.

The area outside the compound was a well-organized riot of activity. Armored transports and medical stations were rolling in. Reyes's own strike team had been bolstered by Overwatch troops there to transition the mission from a siege to prisoner processing. Captured Deadlock members sat around in small, well guarded groups, cuffed and looking despondent. Gabe ushered the children to the edge of it all, where a small mobile command center had been set up. He left them there with Pruit and Diaz, and wandered off to help direct the cleanup. Those kids were someone else's problem now, he told himself. Babysitting wasn't in the job description.

Only he couldn't stop thinking about them for the rest of the day. He thought about the life they had in front of them, with their pack shattered and their parents likely dead. The younger ones would find a place somewhere else. There were always packs willing and eager to adopt children, but the older one, the one who had shot at him, looked to be on the cusp of puberty and would struggle to find a place. It wasn't Gabe's problem, he reminded himself, but as the day drew to a close, the makeshift camp packed up and rolls out, and the tug of the moon began to make itself felt in his bones, he found himself back at camp delta, looking the children up. As expected, social services had taken stock of the situation. It was one of the few perks of having Overwatch in the mix. The real good guys had a way to show their faces. They'd IDed the children and gotten them to their families when possible, or started the process of contacting packs for possible fostering when not. It seemed everything was in order, which meant that Gabe could rest a little easier when the moon came. It wasn't good to be agitated during the turning. The only loose end seemed to be the young pup who had shot at him. His file was bare bones. Name: Jesse McCree. Age: 14. He had no relatives in the gang on account of his having been turned at a young age and absorbed by the pack after being kicked out of his home. His file ended when he dropped out of school at the age of 12. Seemed he had everything going against him. Too old to be easily absorbed into a healthy pack, too young to survive on his own. Despite himself Gabe was reminded of himself, a loner and an outcast before Overwatch gave him the belonging his spirit yearned for.

He wasn't a natural born werewolf. He had been in the system for 12 years, at which point he was reported missing by family. Gabe knew how that went.. There were systems in place to help the newly bitten transition into their new lives, but superstition still ran rampant, and unfortunate children were often run out of their homes as soon as family suspected they have been changed. Gabe suspected half of Deadlock came from that sort of background. It was a vicious cycle. Terrified families ran the new wolves out, who then fell in with wild, dangerous packs who had never been properly socialized, and those packs in turn robbed and killed, furthering the stereotype. Gabe could already see the way the process was digging its claws into the kid, the way he had looked at everyone as if they were a threat, the way his heckles went up whenever someone approached him, looking ready to fight for his life. They had separated him from the younger children with much difficulty. The social worker that gave Gabe the update informed him that he had almost bitten someone's finger off. He was a danger to the smaller children if he couldn't control himself once turned, and was himself vulnerable in the general population if he had no true pack to protect him. At the moment he was being held in solitary, per federal regulation. The laws haven't been written by wolves. Humans didn't understand that what they were asking for was to torture the poor kid with isolation and fear during one of his most vulnerable moments. Typically a friendly wolf should be there, to guide him through what was guaranteed to be a scary time for a young, untrained kid, but with so many captives to deal with there were few spare hands.

Regardless, none of this was Gabe's jurisdiction. His job was to get in and clean the gang out. It was Jack and the US government that had to work out the clean up, but even as he was debriefing his people and packing their gear for departure that scrappy little pup refused to leave his mind.

The sun was starting to set and the frantic pace of the camp was soon replaced by an atmosphere of anticipation. All the work that could be done was done, now the wolves were gathering for the moon, and the non-wolves were hunkering down for a noisy, chaotic night. Gabe made his way to Jack's office. His mate was already dressed, or more accurately, undressed, for the occasion. He was shirtless behind his desk as he finished his final message of the day, and when he rose to join Gabe at the door Gabe could see he had discarded his pants already too. Clad in nothing but boxers with puppy dogs on them he moved into Gabe's space and gave him a fond kiss on the lips before pulling back and frowning.

"Something wrong?"

"No…"

Jack quirked an eyebrow, unconvinced. "If there's a problem let's take care of it fast. The sun's almost down."

Gabe lived for the full moon, when his typically uptight lover let himself go and the two of them went racing through the wild together, chasing each other and playing like joyful pups, but Jesse was still on Gabe's mind, and he couldn't shake the thought of him alone during such an important moment.

"Gabe?"

Jack was looking more concerned. Gabe sighed. He might as well put it out there.

"There's a kid," he said, tentatively.

"And?"

"He's alone. They don't know how feral he is so they're keeping him quarantined for the night."

"Social services should have someone assigned."

"They're short staffed."

Gabe had kept his voice level, just the facts, but from the long suffering look Jack was giving him he knew he had managed to sound like a beggar anyway. And it wasn't fair to Jack, who hadn't gotten a chance to run wild in months thanks to all the desk work this sting had put on him, to ask what Gabe was asking.

"This is the kid that almost shot you, isn't it."

Gabe smirked. "Can't get anything past you."

Jack snorted. "Alright, so what do you want to do?"

"He should have someone with him. I know it's not the night you were hoping for, but..."

Jack quieted him with another kiss. When he pulled away there was nothing but affection on his eyes.

"We'll have other runs. Let's make sure the kid is alright."

\---

Jesse was terrified. From the second the first shots had been fired it had felt like one long, agonizing wait for some final tragedy that his young mind was unwilling to put name or face to. He had done his best to stay brave for the kids, but now they had dragged him away from his charges and there was no one to put a show on for anymore. A stranger who smelled like cheap cologne and smoke had put him in a big, empty room with no windows and tables stacked against the wall, and told him to wait there until someone checked in on him, but how long it would take they didn't say. He thought about what the older boys in the gang had told him about how hunters would skin the wolves they caught for their pelts, and chain pups up to do humiliating tricks in the circus, and he thought of his ma and pa, who had called him an animal and driven him away with a bat and a shotgun, and of his pillow in the corner of the Deadlock's stock room, ratty but his, and the way the older gang members had pat his head and gave him extra jerky and called him Deadeye when he shot all the cans on the fence or brought down squirrels for game, and he thought of how all that was lost, how he had walked past their bodies when the stern, intimidating cop had led them out of the compound, and now they were gonna skin him, or make him do tricks for scraps of garbage for the rest of his life. He hugged his legs, crying snot and salt silently, and thought of his momma, even though he knew she didn't even care that he was alive.

There was the sound of a deadbolt being thrown, and Jesse scrambled to his feet, wiping his face with his shirtsleeve furiously. They ain't taking me without a fight, he told himself, but when he saw who it was walking through the door he could feel the blood curdle in his veins.

The man who had captured him looked different stripped down to sweatpants and a loose tee shirt, but he was no less intimidating. The massive shotguns he sported were gone, replaced by a physique that screamed alpha power. He took the room in with a quick sweep of his eyes, then settled his attention of Jesse, who was frozen in the middle of the room.

"Jesse, right?"

Jesse nodded slowly. Had he come to get revenge for being shot at? Was he going to eat Jesse after the sun went down?

"My name is Gabe," he said, "and this is my mate, Jack."

Gabe's mate looked just as big as he was, but there was something about his relaxed posture, and the easy way he smiled and waved at Jesse that made him a little less terrifying. The cartoon dogs scattered about his boxers didn't really scream danger either. In fact, it all made Gabe's frown look almost awkward in comparison, but Jesse was no fool. They wanted something.

"We know you've been through a lot, kid, and that you probably don't know what's going on right now, but we aren't the bad guys, and we aren't here to hurt you. You were real brave back there, protecting those pups, and I respect that."

Thinking of the children made Jesse nervous all over again. Since it looked like Gabe was trying to play it friendly, Jesse took a shot. "I ain't there to protect them, now," he said, hating himself for how his voice shook when he spoke. "I told em I wouldn't leave em."

"They're safe. I've been keeping an eye on them personally. They're with their parents, or an adult that will stay with them through the night."

"You know what tonight is, right?" asked Jack.

Jesse nodded. The gang had only been talking about it all week. Jesse had been anticipating it with dread, and now it was going to be even worse than he had expected. 

"Well," Jack continued, "it can be scary to go through the full moon alone. We wanted to make sure that you didn't have to if you didn't want to."

As if he had any choice, Jesse thought. But both men were still watching him as if they anticipated an actual answer. And they were right. Even if he hated the insanity of trying to navigate the gang while everyone was high on wolf magic and ripping the hideout to shreds, the few times he had shifted while alone it had been even worse. Waking up aching and caked in your own blood once was enough. The only question was whether the two men really wanted to help, or if they were just looking for a light snack to start their night off.

Jesse's hesitation didn't seem to phase Jack. "Either way you decide, we've brought you dinner."

With that said he turned and left the room, leaving Jesse alone with Gabe. The two stared each other down for a few seconds, Gabe looking at Jesse like he was a gnat to be swatted, and Jesse trying his best to look like he was prepared to fight back if Gabe tried anything, but thankfully the standoff was broken quickly by Jack's return. In his arms was a large box, and when he set it down on the floor Jesse could see all manner of food containers inside. Jack busied himself with laying out a feast as Jesse and Gabe looked on. Out came three roasted chickens, a platter of pulled pork, biscuits, two tubs of beans, and a small mound of brisket. The aroma was overwhelming, and Jesse's stomach immediately started to growl. He'd been given some peanut butter sandwiches when the feds had put him through processing, but other than that he hadn't eaten all day. You won your meal in Deadlock, and that was hard to do when everyone else was twice your size. 

"So," Jack said once the feast had all been laid out. "Do you want this all to yourself or would you like us to stay here with you tonight?"

Even at his most voracious Jesse wouldn't be able to get through half the food in front of him, but he knew how adult werewolves ate, and the two men could probably make short work of the meal. He was eager for them to go away so he have his portion in peace, but try as he might he couldn't figure how this all could be a trick. And there wasn't much time left to decide anyway. A familiar itch up his spine was telling him that dusk was making its inevitable way to night, and soon he wouldn't have a say in anything at all. 

"You can stay," he said, "but you fuck with me and I'll bite your head off."

Gabe snorted, clearly unimpressed with Jesse's proclamation, but he didn't contest it, only turned to close the door behind him and settled down in front of the food. "Then come eat," he said, and started piling his plate with meat.

Without knowing what their angle was Jesse still wasn't keen on getting within grabbing distance of either of the men, but he was desperately hungry, and he knew that if they had wanted to hurt him they could have done so at any moment without putting on such a show, so he came over, settled down with as much confidence as he could muster, and promptly started shoveling food into his mouth. Jack tried to make small talk, asking if Jesse preferred pork or chicken, and commenting on the quality of the biscuits, but Jesse ignored him in favor of getting as much food into his gut as fast as possible. Gabe's attention lay heavy on him as he ate. He'd barely said a word since they entered the room, and it felt like he was picking Jesse apart with his eyes. Jesse knew what a man looked like when he was sizing you up as a target, but he wasn't getting that sense from Gabe, who looked more amused than anything. Jesse glared back, as meanly as he dared. Just try to take this food from me, he thought. I'll show you how small I am.

Something in his attitude must have satisfied Gabe, because he gave Jesse another smirk and finally turned his attention fully two his own meal. And aside from telling Jesse to slow down a little Jack quieted down too. The anticipation of the shift was settling into everyone's bones, and soon Jesse could barely concentrate on the food in front of him. His whole body buzzed with unsettled energy. His muscles began to ache, and his vision started to change. Everything became sharper and at the same time hard to focus on. With the two strange men in the room Jesse was determined not to show how nervous he was getting as second by second his body started to grow more and more alien to him, but he knew that soon he wouldn't be able to help it. The wolf would be in control and he'd be trapped as a horrified passenger in his own body.

Sure enough, the anxiety of the boy started to dissolve into the nervous confusion of the wolf. Nothing smelled right, and he had no idea where he was. The first shudder of the change rippled through Jesse's body, and he couldn't hold back his whine as his bones and muscles started to realign. Gabe and Jack had stopped eating. They were watching him now, but he barely noticed. There were some tables pushed back against the far wall, and he tried to make his wobbly way to them. If he could get under them he would be a little safer...

But he hadn't gotten a few steps before his legs gave out under him. He could hear himself whining. Everything was going all wrong all at once, and no matter how hard he tried to keep himself together he felt like he was coming completely apart.

"Just relax, kid. If you fight it it will only hurt. The change isn't bad. You'll be alright." A broad, warm hand rubbed Jesse's back. He flinched at the contact, but as it got harder and harder to think the calm presence of someone else kept the wolf from a full blown panic. Even so he tried to pull away from it. Somewhere in the back of his mind he knew he needed to find shelter before things really went to shit, or some older dog was going to come by and tear him up. 

"Here, can you open your eyes? Try looking at me for a moment." Another hand stroked his head and rubbed the back of his neck soothingly. Jesse whined. Everything was too confusing, but he could at least obey an order. When he finally managed to look up he found himself face to face with Gabe, who was frowning at him in concern. "Just try to focus on me, and watch what I do, okay?" Something cracked along Jesse's spine but he grit his teeth and nodded. 

Gabe's transformation was nothing like what Jesse was used to seeing. Instead of cracking bones and twisted limbs as his body contorted its way into its wolf form, Gabe's shift was like one smooth sigh, where one moment he was a man looking intently into Jesse's eyes, and in the next he had slid down into a lupine stretch, his hands melding into massive paws, his skin bristling with thick black hair, and his mouth stretching out into a big, panting snout. The only sound he made was a nonplussed harumph, and that was it. He was suddenly a wolf. Jesse stared up at him, dumbfounded. That didn't look like it had hurt at all, while at the moment it felt like his entire spine was on fire and he was starting to drool in anticipating of puking from the discomfort. His jaw was half man, half wolf, and all he could do to express his frustration was whimper up at Gabe pitifully. He got a face full of wolf slobber in response. 

Come on, Jesse, he thought to himself. It's going to happen whether you want it to or not. Just do whatever it was he did, and then it'll be over with. 

Of course it wasn't that easy. Even if he tried to will himself to change the human instinct to resist was strong, and his shift remained arduous and slow. The wolf was calmed by the smell of its kind, at least, and second by agonizing second Jesse shifted, until at last he was sprawled out on the floor and panting as a full wolf. What little hold his human mind had on the situation was now completely given over to the wolf, and as soon as a strange snout got within his vision Jesse struck out, nipping Gabe right on the nose. Before the larger wolf could retaliate he was off and away, diving under the tables and pushing himself against the wall, snarling and shaking.

\----

Gabe's visible frustration would have been amusing if it weren't so clear that the pup was so miserable. Jack had shifted shortly after Gabe had, and sat in the middle of the room, watching Gabe pace back and forth in front of the tables, shoving his nose in and sniffing around but unwilling to barge through and upend the whole thing just yet. Even though for both of them the wolf lived in harmony with their human side, the instinct of the wolf stood supreme even for them, and the excitement that a potential new member of the pack brought was difficult to temper. The poor pup was not nearly as excited to be trapped in the room with two massive, unfamiliar wolves, and every time Gabe stuck his snout in a little too far Jack could hear Jesse growling and snapping his teeth in warning. 

Gabe knew how to be patient, but his aggression bubbled to the surface during the full moon, and frustration agitated it. He was growling back at the poor pup now, ears still up but clearly getting agitated, which Jesse, smart pup that he was, could clearly sense. Left to themselves fur would probably start flying at any minute, so Jack did the only think he could think to do and bopped Gabe in the snout with his paw.

Gabe's attention flipped immediately, and he snapped a warning at Jack, who ignored it and pawed at him again before stretching ass up and tail wagging. Come on Gabe, he thought. The pup isn't going to relax with you looming over him like that.

There was a glint of mischief in his eyes, but Jack could tell Gabe's attention was already drifting back to Jesse. So Jack did what any sensible wolf would do and threw himself at his mate in a full bodied tackle.

The two of them immediately became a tangle of fur, legs, and indignant barking. As soon as Gabe managed to crawl his way out from under Jack, Jack was off and running, practically bouncing off the walls as the small room kept him hemmed in. The urge to chase was too much, and finally Gabe turned his full attention to Jack and bounded after him. The two of them tore around the room. The energy granted by the full moon was overflowing in them, and they rolled and played with the enthusiasm of young pups, growling and barking at each other, alternately tackling each other and rolling over, offering their bellies without hesitation or fear. With nothing better to do they could have played for hours.

The pup hiding under the table was all but forgotten. The wolves in the men wanted to leave the room and run about, exploring the wilderness the way they knew was their right on this auspicious day, but the self control was there. Instead they piled onto each other and nipped and pawed and growled and rolled over until they were a happy panting pile of two. They were taking a short break, Jack sprawled out on his back with Gabe draped on top of him, when some movement caught Jack's eye. It was the pup, crawling out from under the tables, his tail still between his legs, but his eyes set firmly on the spread of food still sitting in the middle of the room. Jack did his best to ignore his own piqued curiosity and give the poor kid some space, but Gabe had noticed the same thing and jumped up, tail wagging.

Jack adored his mate, but he had never been impressed with his diplomacy. Jesse reacted exactly the way Jack expected him too, by snapping right into fight or flight mode. Jack could see the split second of calculation in his eyes where he realized that Gabe would be on top of him well before he could race back to the shelter of the tables, which meant fight it was.

It was hard not to find it amusing when Jesse's hair went up and his face contorted into a reasonably believable snarl. One swat of Gabe's paw would have put him out of commission. But Jesse seemed willing to bargain his life for a scrap of meat, and that cut most of the humor out of the situation. Gabe didn't seem amused at all. In fact, he was looking back at Jesse with disgust on his face, as if he was offended that such a small opponent would dare challenge him. Jesse was no fool, he could see the danger in Gabe's expression too, and his aggressive posture shrunk down, but he wasn't backing away.

Jack was still lying belly up under Gabe, at a perfect angle for giving him another slap on the snout, which he gave with great enthusiasm. Gabe looked down on Jack with wild eyes for a split second, but they softened quickly at the sight of his mate, and he moved without protest when Jack flopped over and got back on his feet.

Just watch and learn, Jack thought, and ambled up to a still snarling Jesse. The growling was getting more and more desperate the closer Jack got, but a few feet before Jesse would have to decide to make good on his threats Jack rolled over onto the floor, and staring upside down at the pup lolled his tongue out and whapped a paw at him playfully. He could tell from the way Jesse's eyes were wildly flipping back and forth that Gabe was coming up beside him, but Gabe had gotten the hint, and instead of being his usual surly self flopped down next to Jack, showing Jesse his belly and neck.

The behavior was clearly not what Jesse was expecting. The combination of confusion and bravado on his face made Jack huff in laughter.

He could see the conflict running through Jesse. He was scared, hungry, and disoriented. The change had been difficult for him, and he probably didn't have much control over his instincts at the moment, but as Jesse watched them, still guarded but relaxing by degrees every second, Jack could see in him a clear, calculating intelligence. No wonder Gabe liked this kid, Jack thought to himself. He's going to be upset when they take him away.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity of cajoling, Jesse finally decided that it was safe to eat with two massive wolves right by him. He never took his eyes off Gabe and Jack, but he shimmied up to the meal and started to wolf down every piece of meat he could get his muzzle on. Whenever Gabe or Jack would move he would stop and his heckles would shoot up, ready at a split second to go back to the fight, but he settled as soon as things didn't escalate and went back to his food. Eventually he had licked every surface clean of every bit of sauce, and for the first time that evening seemed satisfied. Good, Jack thought. The poor kid was a bundle of nerves. If he didn't figure out how to calm down he was going to start biting himself the way neurotic weres often did when they weren't properly socialized. 

Having been able to eat without harassment seemed to settle something in Jesse's mind, because was looking at Gabe and Jack with more curiosity than trepidation now. Gabe, bless his heart, seemed to take this as an invitation, and was up and prancing around as soon as he realized he had Jesse's attention, bouncing about and making play bows as if his life depended on it. Jack watched, still worried that the attention would scare Jesse, but even though Jesse didn't jump up and join them, Jack caught a wag of the tail. He may have been a bitten were, but the spirit of the wolf was in him now, and a part of that was an earnest desire to belong and be friendly with all other weres. If he saw Jack and Gabe playing, Jack had hope that he might be willing to take a risk and join in. 

Sure enough, as soon as Jack got up and started to tumble about with Gabe, instead of using the chance to flee Jesse took a few tentative steps forward, still unsure but clearly hopeful. Gabe couldn't seem to help himself any longer, and with a joyful bark went barreling towards Jesse, who looked ready to about piss himself in fear before Gabe stopped short and started rolling about on the ground in front of him, barking like an idiot, pawing at the air, and squirming around on his back like his life depended on it. Jack rolled his eyes. Clearly the close quarters was getting to him if he was going to go that nuts, but the gambit worked. Jesse barked back and leapt forward. He shuffled back immediately after, looking almost sheepish about his behavior, but when it wasn't punished with aggression tried again, his tail finally out from under his legs and wagging shyly. 

Neither Gabe nor Jack could get up on all fours without Jesse deciding that was a little bit too much and retreating, but as long as they were rolling around on the floor he seemed to have gathered up to courage to sniff around and prance about the room, replying to Gabe's barking and making the occasional friendly dive at Jack from a very safe distance. Jack simply lay there, tail wagging, and let Jesse explore in his newfound sense of security. It wasn't as exhilarating as running wild, but watching the pup gain confidence inch by inch was nearly as satisfying. There was clearly a brave heart in that scrawny little body. Jack just hoped that it wasn't too wounded from such a harsh start in life. 

Now that they were playing time passed quickly, and all the dashing about had finally worn Jesse out. Jack was growing sleepy too. The power of the moon was fading, and the deep exhaustion that marked the end of the transformation was starting to take hold on all three of the wolves. Jack and Gabe curled up around each other, just as they did at the end of every full moon, and settled down to sleep. A whine interrupted Jack's freefall into oblivion, and he cracked an eye open to see Jesse, looking at them with nervous longing. Jack lifted a paw invitingly. Jesse looked at the space he had made as if he was staring down a 100 foot drop, but inch by inch he ventured forward, until with one final huff of courage he nuzzled under Jack's leg and flopped over onto his side, nestled comfortably against Jack's chest. Jack could feel Jesse's tail wagging against him. He'd spent his whole career saving lives and protecting people, but for some reason, knowing this one lost kid had decided to trust him and was finally comfortable after a night that started out so difficult, made his heart swell with a pride he couldn't recall ever feeling before. I am in deep trouble, and it's all Gabe's fault, Jack thought before nuzzling against Jesse's head and closing his eyes to sleep.

\---

Jesse woke up feeling a sense of warmth and safety that he hadn't felt since the bite, back when his pa was still tucking him in at night and his ma was kissing him on the forehead and telling him she loved him. Even though his shirt had disappeared he wasn't cold at all, thanks to something warm and solid wrapped up around him. His eyes were still closed, and he kept them that way, luxuriating in the comfort and afraid to see what sort of chaos the previous night had wrought. All he could remember was the fear and the pain, and the imposing figure of the man who had dragged him out of the hideout looking down on him darkly. He was sore all over now, as if he had spent yesterday pushing every muscle of his body to its limits, but for some reason the pain was much duller than all the other times he had turned, and he wasn't dying of hunger either.

As warm as he was he wasn't particularly comfortable. It was clear he was lying on the cold floor, and the contrast there made him burrow deeper into the warmth around him, looking for some sort of escape. The next thing he knew, the warmth wrapped around him squeezed the air half or of his lungs and a sleepy rumble rippled through the chest he was now sure he was pressed up against. Jesse felt his whole body go stiff, partly by embarrassment and partly by fear. It wasn't uncommon for the wolves of deadlock to end up in piles of warm bodies after a night of carousing and terrorizing the countryside, but some people were nicer than others the day after, and the ones in the room now with Jesse he didn't know at all. On top of that it was hard to make a tough impression when you were snuggled up against someone's chest. 

"Morning, Jesse."

Jesse stayed perfectly still. Maybe they would think he was still asleep and leave him alone. The man wrapped around him started to stretch, and a cascade of little pops traveled down his spine as he cracked his back. There was a muffled grumble from further behind him, and suddenly the body against him was disappearing. 

"Let me get Jesse something to wear and then we can get breakfast."

"Mmph. Sounds good. We know you're awake, kid."

Jesse rolled over onto his back and looked up. Normally after a full moon he could barely remember anything that had happened the night before, but for some reason this time there were scraps of memories still lingering in his mind. The two men looking down at him had come in and offered to stay with him the night. The had told him their names, and fed him. And, some deep part of him insisted, they were pack. The very idea was disturbing to Jesse. As far as he knew they were the enemy, but never the less a strange feeling of comfort seemed to have settled over him and looking up at them only made it stronger. 

"Wait right here," the scary one, Gabe, said, and the two of them disappeared out the door.

As the seconds ticked past that comfortable feeling drained away, replaced with the cold certainty that the next stop for Jesse was going to be a jail cell and that he was about to be corralled to some werewolf prison with the rest of the the gang in short order. But when the door finally opened again, it was Gabe and Jack again, no longer dressed in pajamas and holding a set of clean clothes, as promised.

The three of them ate in the mess with the rest of the members of what Jack told him was Overwatch. The other people there threw him an odd look here or there, probably wondering what a criminal was doing in their midst, but it was clear that Jack and Gabe outranked everyone in the joint, and no one was going to say a word about it. Jack was as solicitous as he had been the night before, insisting that Jesse pile as much food on his plate as he wanted (Jesse was happy to comply) and Gabe remained his quiet, smoldering self. This time however, Jesse didn't feel so driven to assert himself. The night before was still a little hazy, but when before Gabe had felt intimidating and dangerous, now Jesse felt like he had gotten somehow sucked into Gabe's sphere of protection, and that Gabe was more a bodyguard than a threat. He couldn't quite understand the change, but damn was it nice. He resolved to himself that he couldn't let down his guard, but for now, he was going to take advantage of the strange hospitality he was receiving. 

Once he had cleaned off his plate the two of them led him to what they said was Jack's office. Now was when they'd tell him it'd been fun, but it was time to ship him off to wherever they put orphan werewolves, Jesse thought, and the look the two of them gave each other after they had settled down seemed to all but confirm it. That was fine, Jesse told himself. What else could he expect?

"Jesse, I'm sure you know that you're in a difficult situation right now," Gabe said. "At the moment you're technically under arrest, and your association with Deadlock is on record. But you're also a minor, and a werewolf, and so there are limited options for how to deal with your situation."

"You do have options, though," Jack added. "I don't want you to think we're about to relegate you to prison for the rest of your life or anything like that. We want to help you."

Jesse kept his mouth shut, but both men could probably see how skeptical he was of that claim.

"Just hear us out, and then you can decide what you want to do, okay?" Gabe said. He sounded nothing like the man who had dragged him out of the gang compound just a day ago. 

Jesse nodded. "Don't have much choice in that, do I?"

Gabe smirked at him, "No you don't. Now, you're aware that as a werewolf, it's required that you either be registered to a pack or remain the ward of the state until you come of age? If you were to go through the same channels as the other pups who did not have family to claim them you'd be essentially put up for adoption and registered packs would have an opportunity to bring you in and raise you within the proper environment for our kind. However, the success rate for that system drops quickly the older the pup is, and, to be blunt with you, at your age it would be very difficult to find a pack willing to take you, and if one did we can't guarantee that you'd be able to integrate well."

Jesse knew all about the "integration" process. A good number of Deadlocks had been runaways from that system. There were probably some good packs out there, but abuse was rampant, and bitten weres were treated like trash. 

"The other option is to submit your papers as a member of the Deadlock pack. This would keep you with the gang, and would also result in your incarceration. You'd be put in a facility specifically designed to hold criminal weres. I would suggest against this option. I don't know how fond you are of your old gang mates, but I can assure you if they were difficult to deal with on the outside, the bad parts will just get worse in prison.

"The third option is..." Gabe glanced at Jack, who nodded. "You can submit to being a ward of Overwatch. You would be put under probation, and your movements and actions would be strictly curtailed, but you wouldn't be required to submit to the law of a pack or to spend a good portion of your life in prison. You'd be trained and given an education, and within the organization would be treated as an equal, albeit with some limited rights due to your situation and age."

What the hell did that option even mean? It sounded like some weird combo of the two, and whether it was the worst parts of prison and adoption or the best was anybody's guess. 

"We're sorry that the choice has to be made so quickly," Jack said, "but giving you the choice at all is somewhat irregular, and if you do choose to stay here we need to slip that through before certain people have a chance to scrutinize the paperwork too much."

"So... it'd be illegal?"

"Not illegal. Just, non-standard."

"Uh huh.."

"We don't expect you to trust us," Jack continued. "We can only be as honest as possible and give you as much freedom to choose as we can. It's entirely possible that if you choose to become a ward of the state you will find a pack that will bring you in and become a home for you. All we're doing is giving you a chance to choose that pack for yourself."

"Are you some sorta politician?" Jesse asked. Gabe snorted as Jack looked taken aback. 

"I'll take that as a compliment, but no, I'm a solider. And you'd be one too, if you chose to stay with us."

That got Jesse's interest. "So, I'd get my gun back?"

"You'd get it back," Gabe said ("Eventually," Jack cut in), "and we'd teach you to use the thing properly. You won't be hitting water pipes once we're done with you."

"I was aimin' for the water pipe."

Now it was Jack's turn to snort. "Alright, well, give it some thought, and we'll ask you to give us your decision tonight."

"Don't need to. I'll stay here."

If there was any doubt in the decision before Jesse voiced it, the happy look both men gave him after put that to rest. As hard as he looked to find an angle in all of this, it really seemed to Jesse like they wanted him.

"Good," Jack said. I'll get the paperwork going. Gabe will take you somewhere to rest while we wrap this operation up.

As Gabe led Jesse down the hall Jesse told himself that if things got rough he could always cut out and run. He'd done it before, and as long as they didn't lock him up he'd have a way out. But watching the back of the man who turned his life upside down and put him through one of the most nervewracking nights of his life, for some strange reason a little voice inside of him was telling him that he wouldn't need to. 

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> It's still the 15th somewhere! orz
> 
> Turns out what the id wanted was a weird AU kidfic fluff thing. It also turns out that if you're going to go for some dumb fun maybe don't write yourself into a corner where a majority of the fic has no dialog. All I wanted was a scared puppy gradually coming out of his shell so hopefully I got some of that feeling out for someone D;


End file.
